Meghan Markle’s Dad Is Now Expected to Be at the Royal Wedding, Despite Claims He Wasn’t Invited

Bride-to-be Meghan Markle will have both of her parents with her at her royal wedding to Prince Harry in almost two weeks.

Despite reports claiming that her father Thomas Markle had been shunned by his daughter, he will be at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel to see Meghan, 36, marry her royal fiancé on May 19.

In a handwritten letter published in In Touch, Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr. — who is Meghan’s half-brother from her father’s first marriage — said that Meghan’s father did not receive an invitation to the royal wedding, but PEOPLE understands that he is expected to be there.

The former lighting director on TV shows such as Married With Children and General Hospital, who was married to Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland for nine years until 1988, lives a quiet life in Mexico. Doria, a yoga instructor and therapist, has met Harry a few times — and was with Meghan and Harry at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto in September.

When the couple gave an interview after announcing their engagement in November, Harry called Meghan’s mother “amazing.” A source told PEOPLE that Harry even asked for Doria’s permission before he popped the question to Meghan.

During the engagement interview, Meghan also revealed that her dad and her royal fiancé had yet to meet, but that they had spoken over the phone. “Everybody was really happy. And he’s talked to my dad a few times, hasn’t been able to meet him just yet, but it’s all been, it’s all been worth every effort,” she said.

After the couple’s engagement was announced, Meghan’s parents said they were “incredibly happy” about the news. “Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person,” they said in a joint statement. “To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.”

In December, Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, fired back at Prince Harry after he called the royals the family that Meghan’s “never had.”

“She has a large family. She always did. Our dad is amazing and completely self-sacrificing,” Samantha tweeted in December. “We made it so that she had two houses. How fun it was!”

But she later softened her stance during an appearance on the U.K. morning show The Wright Stuff. “I don’t think [Harry] meant it that way,” she said. “He was referring to the family all being in one place, and it’s lovely that she can have that. It was more a matter of timing and geography. I wasn’t hurt. Harry said a lovely thing. Marrying merely extends that family.”

On May 19, Harry’s dad Prince Charles will be in Windsor with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen a beautiful way to honor the royal’s late mother, Princess Diana, on their wedding day. The couple’s floral arrangements inside the chapel will include white garden roses, one of Diana’s favorite flowers. She is also remembered by two stones from her jewelry collection that were included in Meghan’s engagement ring.

“I think everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness is – and the inclusion of that and obviously not being able to meet his mom it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us,” Meghan said about the ring during the couple’s interview.

Meghan and Harry are currently taking a few weeks off from official duties until the wedding, spending time privately and carrying out meetings and briefings behind closed doors, which means the next time the world sees the future newlyweds, it will be on their big day.